Priced o.k.?

[alanh]

 I cut some wide (23") white oak for a guy who is using them for counter/bar tops in his cabin. I doweled/glued a few inches on the back to give him room for an overhang and backsplash. I left them at 8/4 until the air dried down to around 12%, they won`t seem to get much lower in my shop. He is going to leave them in the house for a month or two before he final cuts/finishes. I then leveled off down to 1 5/8" on the saw.He is going to sand and router them. The 2 of them are 52 bd ft. I was thinking 4.00 a bd ft and some money for gluing, say 300. total. I know the definition of a fair price is when both the buyer and the seller are happy. The buyer is happy....I think I`m happy... What would some of you guys charge.

[Brad_bb]

  I then leveled off down to 1 5/8" on the saw.

So you band saw it twice?  Is this because you are leaving it dry thicker to see if it cups and then resaw when dry because you don't have a planer that wide?

How much additional time do you have in it after the original sawing of the log?

[jmouton]

i dont know , but 4 bd ft seem s a little low especially for a small quantity  and the work involved , white oak and that wide and clear brings a premium around here ,,and for what its for


                                                                                                        jim

[WV Sawmiller]

   Sounds like almost $6/bf if 52 bf at $300 (Have you been talking to David Post?). That does not sound excessive to me due to the cost of the wood (I assume you provided the logs), labor, time, handling and storage involved. You are providing a unique service not readily available elsewhere. Have you figured the actual hours involved for you and your equipment and actually figured exactly how much time you have involved? If you do I think you may find you could not make a living if you were making and selling them at that price full time.

[alanh]

Brad bb, yes I sawed it twice, they cupped slightly and he wanted them thinner. I wasn`t sure on the bd ft price thats why I said 4.00, so that was 200. for the wood and I was thinking a couple hrs extra for the gluing @ 50. an hr. I havent given the customer the price yet, have just been getting feed back from a mutual friend who knows i`m unsure of where to price it.
I did provide the logs so I`m thinking I should go with the 6.00 a bd ft plus the extra labor to be fair to myself.
I`ve been selling the white oak as trailer decking at 3.00 and wasn`t sure how much of a premium I should charge for the wide, hence the post..

[scsmith42]

8/4 flat sawn kiln dried white oak boards (select grade) retail for around $5.00 - $6.00 per board foot - slabs are even more than that. 

I think that at $4.00 per board foot you are really cheating yourself in terms of the value of the product provided and the value of the extraordinary services that you've provided.

Your thoughts about charging $6.00 per board foot plus additional for the extra services are in the right ballpark, IMO.

[francismilker]

Maybe I missed it while reading through the thread. Did you supply the log or did the customer?

[Brad_bb]

About 3 years ago, before I had my mill, I had a hardwood lumber place make a dried Walnut table top for me - 6 ft long x 32"   1.25" thick, from 7" boards.  $325.  I know there was more cost in labor than wood.  They ran it through a drum sander and it was smooth.  Sounds like about the same amount of work.  I don't know if you finish planed or sanded that top?

[Darrel]

I'm always trying so hard to make the customer happy that I forget about keeping me happy. So don't be like me keep you happy too.

[alanh]

I supplied the log and did no sanding or planing. I did have to do some out of the ordinary (for me) shimming and clamping to position it on the mill to shave it down. 26" wide, I don`t have a big enough planer.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Also ask yourself whether you would like having him ask again, or get calls from other customers,  to do the same job again for the same money.

[francismilker]

Also ask yourself whether you would like having him ask again, or get calls from other customers,  to do the same job again for the same money.

Agreed!
A happy customer is a returning customer and lots of free advertising. If you want to do that same type of thing again for the equivalent price go for it.
I've done a few good ol' boy deals before that have came back to haunt me🤔